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Newsela | Honolulu is the first city to enforce fines for texting while walking

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Competitors to Watch in the 2018 Olympics

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Competitors to Watch in the 2018 Olympics

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Newsela | Competitors to watch at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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A look at 10 competitors expected to shine next month at the Olympic Games in South Korea.

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What Causes Lightning and Thunder

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Ann Gregory, the woman who shattered racist and sexist barriers in golf

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Ann Gregory, the woman who shattered racist and sexist barriers in golf

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Newsela | Ann Gregory, the woman who shattered racist and sexist barriers in golf

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Ann Gregory, an African-American champion golfer who broke through the sport's color barriers.

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Newsela | What causes lightning and thunder?

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The science of lightning is about the release of static electricity; the thunder that follows is the result of rapidly expanding and contracting air

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Pro/Con (may be a good obscure or non-example of C & C)

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Newsela | PRO/CON: Is it time to pass tough gun control laws?

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For or against stricter gun control laws?

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Newsela | Batter up late: Jet-lagged players don't perform as well

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Researchers study jet lag's effect on performance

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E Waste is Both an Environmental Problem and an Opportunity for Jobs 

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E Waste is Both an Environmental Problem and an Opportunity for Jobs 

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Newsela | E-waste provides income to the poor but is also an environmental hazard

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Five Things That Happen to Your Body in Space

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Five Things That Happen to Your Body in Space

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Newsela | Five things that happen to your body in space

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Leds May Not Be the Best Solution For LIght Pollution

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Leds May Not Be the Best Solution For LIght Pollution

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Newsela | Another reason to flip the off switch: light pollution

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Newsela | Big Questions: What causes a food allergy?

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Pringles: Snack time Hero or Recycling Villain

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Pringles: Snack time Hero or Recycling Villain

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Newsela | Pringles: snacktime hero or recycling villain?

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New Technology used to get rid of Unwanted Species

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New Technology used to get rid of Unwanted Species

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Newsela | Technology: A powerful resource against invasive species

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Newsela | Seven signs that you might be a mammal

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Newsela | Alaska reports most extreme snowfall rates on record: 10 inches per hour

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A recent storm in Valdez, Alaska, dropped 1.7 inches of snow every 10 minutes - for a total of 40 inches in 12 hours!

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The plays all start the same way: A scrum of young football players converges on the ballcarrier. And then, whoosh! A pint-sized blur emerges from the pile, exploding past defenders and making his way to the end zone. It's Maxwell (Bunchie) Young, zooming past opponents as if he's in a race car and they're on horseback. He's playing a different game.

But that blinding speed, which has dazzled more than three million viewers on one of his YouTube highlight reels, is not what defines Bunchie. He's not just a dynamic football player and a supersonic sprinter. He's a leader at school and at church, a role model for other kids.

His speed makes him stand out on the field. His caring spirit makes him stand out off it. It's those qualities that make Bunchie Young the 2017 SportsKid of the Year.

Ahead of the Pack
David Young doesn't remember how Maxwell became Bunchie, only that the nickname has been around since his son was born. "I never really called him Maxwell," Bunchie's dad says with a laugh. But he does know that Bunchie immediately took to football. He saw his first game at age three and started playing when he was five. Bunchie's speed quickly became evident. When he was six years old in 2013, he won the 200 meters in 32.22 at the Imani Speed City Track Club meet in Compton, California, 3.5 seconds better than the next finisher.

Bunchie knows he's fast, but he doesn't brag about it. When asked if he knows his speed is otherworldly, he gets shy. (And anyone who knows Bunchie knows he's anything but shy.) All he'll say is, "Yeah," under his breath.

When asked to describe what it feels like when he's on one of his mind-bending touchdown runs-like the one he made for the Hub City Tar Heels against the Cerritos Vypers 10-and-under team, during which he lined up as a receiver, went in motion, received the handoff on a sweep, and flew past four defenders, untouched-he immediately describes the crowd. "It roars, and I hear everybody cheering, and it's so fun," he says.

He scored 30 times in 2016 and 31 times through October of this year. Those electrifying touchdown runs have already caught the interest of college recruiters. The University of Illinois offered Bunchie a scholarship to play football once he graduates high school. (Illinois doesn't comment on potential recruits, but its offensive coordinator, Garrick McGee, retweeted a post sharing the news in May.)

Bunchie, who is under no obligation to attend Illinois, is not the only kid his age to be offered a college scholarship: At least two others in his age group have had offers this year. Often, when those scholarships are reported, there is criticism saying the kids are simply too young. Mike Evans, Bunchie's trainer and a former college football player at Louisville, disagrees. "It keeps them away from doing things that are wrong," he says. "It makes them focus on their grades and being good people."

Bunchie (in blue helmet) turns to his faith to stay grounded. He writes Bible verses on his arms, and he relishes being a leader among his peers.

When the scholarship was reported, Bunchie received a lot of attention. "It was a lot of pressure and a lot of hatred," he says. Some kids were jealous. If he had a bad game, people would criticize him. "But I don't worry about that," he says. "I just go out and have a good game the next time."

Indeed, Bunchie doesn't really worry about what others think of him. His hair has been a kaleidoscope of colors. It's currently an orange-and-blond mix. It's been purple, green, blue, turquoise, red, orange, and pink. And those are just the ones he remembers. "It's been so many!" he says.

Bunchie has an outsized personality to match his big-time talent. In an interview, the 10-year-old excitedly recalls his first track win ("I was like, Whoa, I actually won?"); becomes animated at the mention of his favorite basketball team, the Lakers ("Ooh, yes!"); and talks with admiration about old-school players (best-dressed of all time: Dennis Rodman).

Watching Bunchie on the track is like watching a movie on fast-forward. At the Long Beach Sprinters meet in February 2016, he won the long jump (3.89 meters). At the BCU Invitational in Harbor City that April, Bunchie, with green hair and a yellow track suit, won the 100 meters in 13.33 seconds, a half-second better than the second-place finisher. He also won the 200 by nearly two seconds. In May, at the Inland Valley Wildcats Invitational, he ran the 100 in 12.45 seconds, the fastest AAU time for 10-year-olds that year.

"I've seen him race high school kids after track practice," Evans says. "He can't race kids his age, because it's no competition."

Bunchie says he likes football better than track because he gets to share his gridiron success. "In track, you're competing against teammates," he says. "In football, we work together. It takes people to win. We form a bond better than the one we do in track."

It's easy to only focus on his on-field exploits. But there are two versions of Bunchie worth sharing. There's Bunchie the speedster. And then there's Bunchie the leader.

Advanced Placement
At Love and Live Again Ministries in Los Angeles, Bunchie wears a number of hats. In the classroom, teachers call on him when they need an example. At adult Bible study, he contributes to the discussion, even though he's the only kid. "He asks questions that most adults are afraid to ask," Pastor Lafayette Dorsey says. And despite the fact that Bunchie says he doesn't like to sing, he helps out the church choir director. "You have many kids, they're so athletically inclined, but they lack in other areas," says Dorsey. "[Bunchie's] very well-rounded. He's very balanced."

At the beginning of this school year, Bunchie applied for a spot on the student council at KIPP Scholar Academy. In order to do so, students have to write down why they want to be on the council. The principal narrows the list, and then the student body votes. "It's just like how the presidency does it!" Bunchie says, excitedly. "We do speeches and all that stuff."

Bunchie's highlights for the Hub City Tar Heels are big hits on YouTube.

Bunchie has enjoyed his time on the council and is already making an impact. In October, he worked on posters to get students excited about a sock drive for the homeless. "There's a lot of hugs and high-fives," says Tiffany Moore, the school's principal. "He's doing a good job. He leads by example." In September, he won student of the month.

Bunchie has discovered early on that he likes to give back. Every Christmas, he and his family deliver toys and goods to the Union Rescue Mission, a local homeless shelter. "It makes me feel warm inside," Bunchie says. "A lot of blessings have happened to me. For all the kids who don't have a lot of stuff, we bless them back."

He also gives back via social media. He has more than 14,000 followers on Instagram and often posts inspiring messages. "We want to play the game, but we don't have to hate each other," David Young says. "The kids who write him, he takes the time to write them back."

His parents are not together, but Bunchie, who lives with his dad, sees his mom, Laura DeShazor-Dunn, and younger sister, Maxine, on a daily basis. They are Bunchie's biggest fans.

His goals are ambitious. He wants to make the NFL, of course-but not before taking a quick detour to win gold at the Olympics in track and field. "For a year, then go back to football," he says. He wants to model his football career after his idol, Barry Sanders, and make the Hall of Fame. Bunchie has loved his time on the student council so much that after his football days, he wants to become mayor of a city. "I don't want to sit on my butt all day and be retired," he says. He wants to write a book, too. His favorite subject is English, and he enjoys big-time characters-just like himself.

In eight years you may see Bunchie at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, in orange and blue, blasting by defenders. Or you might see him at a different stadium, repping a different team. You might see him on the track at the 2028 Olympics in his hometown of Los Angeles. (Says Bunchie: "Oh, I will be there!") You might see him in the mayor's office or at his own book-signing.

Whatever he does, make sure to pay attention. If you blink- whoosh! -you might miss him.

Photographs by John W. McDonough

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Bunchie Young is Our 2017 SportsKid of the Year

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The plays all start the same way: A scrum of young football players converges on the ballcarrier. And then, whoosh! A pint-sized blur emerges from the pile, exploding past defenders and making his way to the end zone. It's Maxwell (Bunchie) Young, zooming past opponents as if he's in a race car and they're on horseback.

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Sports Ill possible sequence a little compare contrast

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Sports Ill possible sequence a little compare contrast

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There are very few sporting events that are quite like a NASCAR race. With at least 40 stock cars going 150 miles per hour, NASCAR is as loud as any sport out there. When the cars make their turn to the next lap, it almost feels like an earthquake.

I experienced my first race this weekend at Homestead Miami Speedway. I was covering the Ford EcoBoost 300, the race that determines who is the champion of the Xfinity Series, which is the second-tier division of NASCAR. Daniel Suarez came in first and took home the title.

My day started with three interviews. I talked to Sprint Cup driver Matt Kenseth and Xfinity drivers Blake Koch and Bubba Wallace Jr. All three of them became involved with stock car racing in different ways. Kenseth said he started to like racing when he was growing up in Wisconsin. He would go out to the local short track every Saturday night to watch his three uncles race.

Wallace had always loved cars, but he knew he wanted to race when he was nine. Koch is definitely the outlier of the trio; he didn't start racing in cars until he was 20. Koch began racing dirt bikes when he was nine, and he decided to stop after he suffered some major injuries. His stepdad thought about buying a racecar, and he asked Koch if he wanted to get into stock car racing. After just three years in a car, Koch was already driving in the Xfinity Series.

These three looked up to many different drivers while they were growing up. Kenseth didn't get to see much NASCAR since he grew up in Wisconsin, so he says he looked up to his dad, with whom he raced as a child. Short track legend Joe Shear was another driver who inspired Kenseth to become a NASCAR driver.

Koch looks up to current NASCAR driver Michael McDowell, while Wallace enjoyed watching Dale Earnhardt Sr. when he was growing up.

After interviewing the drivers, I got to look at the garages to see the cars being prepared for practice. There's a lot of preparation that goes into getting the car ready. The pit crews have to make sure the car is ready for inspection, or else their driver risks getting penalized.

After that, I was able to go into the NBC production trucks, where they were getting ready to broadcast the Xfinity Series qualifying. NBC was controlling the cameras from inside the truck, and the network was able to adjust the angle of the camera in an instant.

I then watched NBC film its weekly segment with former driver Jeff Burton. The segment involves Burton driving a stock car with a local celebrity. The celebrity is supposed to ask Burton questions about driving while they are accelerating around the track. For this segment, NBC chose former Olympic track star (and NBC track announcer) Ato Boldon to ride with Burton. For 20 minutes, Boldon asked Burton questions while they were driving at speeds of up to 150 miles per hour.

Before the race started, I was able to go to the broadcast booth and meet the NASCAR on NBC broadcasters. Along with Burton, announcer Rick Allen and former crew chief Steve Letarte were calling the Sprint Cup practice. Like the broadcasters, I wore headphones to hear the producer. After I met the announcers, I went to my seats to watch the race.

I noticed that a NASCAR track is much larger than a typical football or baseball stadium. In fact, 15 stadiums could easily fit inside of Daytona International Speedway.

NASCAR races are also incredibly loud, as a race could reach up to 140 decibels. To put this into perspective, a marching band with 200 members registers at around 130 decibels.

Attending the race was quite an experience that should be on any sports fan's bucket list. Just don't forget your earplugs.
Photographs by Dylan Goldman

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There are very few sporting events that are quite like a NASCAR race. With at least 40 stock cars going 150 miles per hour, NASCAR is as loud as any sport out there. When the cars make their turn to the next lap, it almost feels like an earthquake.

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Tall, muscular swimmers walked down a red carpet in New York City, posing for photos and speaking with reporters. The week of Thanksgiving, the best swimmers in the country - part of the winningest U.S. Olympic swim team in history - gathered for the Golden Goggles Awards and also to give back to their swimming community by raising money for the USA Swimming Foundation.

For the fourth time, Katie Ledecky received the Female Swimmer of the Year award, and Michael Phelps earned Male Swimmer of the Year for the seventh time.

Cullen Jones, an ambassador for the USA Swimming Foundation, spoke about how the organization has given him opportunities he might not have otherwise received.

"It's been an outlet to give back to my sport and to give back to my community," said Jones, who won three medals at the 2012 Games. "Being African-American, it's been my way of teaching other African-Americans how important it is to learn how to swim."

Continued Jones, "Seventy percent of African-Americans don't know how to swim, and we can change that just by taking swim lessons. It's important we teach that."

Swimmers at the event also had important advice for youth swimmers who hope to one day make the Olympics. Ledecky, who came home from Rio with five medals, said, "Dream big. Set some big goals."

She talked about her own personal path to make the Olympics. "When I was [13] and younger, I had no idea how you qualified for the Olympics, and I would always watch the Olympics and think, Oh I'll never get there, I have no idea how you can get there," Ledecky said. "But the more I started working towards swimming faster, I got to a point where qualifying for Olympic trials was my next goal, and then all of a sudden I started realizing that it could happen. I would encourage young swimmers not to be afraid to dream that big and to fully believe that it's a real possibility. It's not something out there in space."

In Rio, Simone Manuel became the first African-American woman to win individual Olympic gold in swimming. She took home the award for Female Race of the Year following her win in the 100 freestyle.

Said Manuel, "I would just say have fun and never give up. Work as hard as you can to reach your goals and dreams. No dream is too big, so just go for it."

Paralympian Jessica Long, who has won 23 medals over her career, said it is important to push through difficult practices. "Never give up," she said. "You know you have to practice to be a good swimmer, but there are going to be those practices that are tough and hard, and that's when you have to never give up."

Said Ryan Held, who won 4 x 100 freestyle gold in Rio and was part of the team that earned Relay Performance of the Year, "There's no real secret ingredient; there's no special training program. As long as you have a positive mindset, set your goals high, then always make decisions to [help you] achieve those, then there's really nothing else that can stop you from achieving what you want."

All the Olympians emphasized the importance of working hard and dreaming big.

They also spoke about their favorite Olympic moments.

Said Allison Schmitt, "Every time the national anthem plays, the American flag is raised, it brings tears to my eyes. No matter if I am on the podium or watching my teammates on the podium, that's a special feeling that I can't really ever explain."

Manuel said that just being on the team representing her country was her favorite part of the Olympic experience. And Nathan Adrian, who was also on that 4 x 100 relay team, doesn't have a favorite Olympic moment. Said Adrian, "There's too many."
Photographs by Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

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Stars Appear at Swimming's Golden Goggle Awards

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Tall, muscular swimmers walked down a red carpet in New York City, posing for photos and speaking with reporters. The week of Thanksgiving, the best swimmers in the country - part of the winningest U.S. Olympic swim team in history - gathered for the Golden Goggles Awards and also to give back to their swimming community by raising money for the USA Swimming Foundation.